The Promise Of The Rose
by Sora-Dragon
Summary: Serena is bullied by boys at her school, and her friend Molly is the only one who can protect her. But when she finds a new job, her life changes forever.
1. Stranger

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or anything Sailor Moon related, or any of the characters._

_Well, this is my first chapter. It took me forever to name the story :) In the end I chose the title of one of the movies, because it fits with the plot I guess :)_

_Most characters will be OOC_

_Set in AU_

_Enjoy_

**The Promise Of The Rose**

**Chapter 1 – Stranger**

"Hey Meatball head. I hear your grades are still slipping. Perhaps you should spend more time studying and less time eating." The group behind the boy snickered.

Serena sat against the wall, tears forming in her eyes.

"Hey!" Molly stepped in between the boy and Serena. "Leave her alone Lian!"

"Hmph." Lian turned around and walked away, his group of friends following him.

Molly turned to Serena and helped her up.

"You okay?"

"I am now, Molly, thank you." Serena smiled at her friend.

"Let's get out of here. The pair headed on home.

Serena sighed.

"I need a job."

"Oh! Serena, you should have told me sooner! You could have worked at Mum's shop. But I'm afraid the last vacancy was filled last week."

"Oh, don't worry about it Molly. I'm sure I'll find one if I look in the newspaper." Serena smiled.

"Okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Mollie and Serena split up. Serena walked the last few minutes to her home.

"Mom! I'm home."

"Hey sweetie, there's some food in the fridge if you're hungry."

Serena paused for a moment.

"It's okay Mom, I'm not all that hungry right now."

"Okay… Well, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

Serena nodded and went to her room. She picked up the newspaper from her desk and looked in the job section. Her expression saddened.

"It's no use." She spoke to herself. "I don't have the qualifications needed for any of these jobs." She scanned the paper again and a small box caught her eye.

_Needed_

_Female to work as a maid_

_No experience necessary_

"Yes!" Serena reached for the phone and dialled the number below the advert.

'_Hello?' _A woman answered.

"Um, hello. I'm calling about your advert in the paper."

'_Oh, yes. You're interested?'_

"Yes, I am."

'_Could you come for an interview tomorrow at four pm?'_

"Yes, of course."

The woman told Serena the address to go to.

'_Good, I'll see you then. Goodbye.'_

"Bye." Serena grinned as she put down the phone.

She slept with a smile on her face that night.

When Serena went to school the next day, she stayed with Molly and told her that she found a job.

After school, she and Molly went their separate ways and she headed for the given address.

As she walked down an alleyway, a group of boys approached behind her.

"Well, well. Look who it is boys."

Serena froze.

"Where's your protector today, Meatball head?"

"Leave me alone Lian." Serena turned to face him.

Lian pushed her into a wall, grabbed her head and pushed one side onto the bricks, causing the skin the break on her cheek. When Lian let go, Serena crumpled onto the ground and curled up in an attempt to defend herself. Serena watched through teary eyes as Lian and his friends approached her. She shut her eyes tight, waiting. But she opened them when she heard something crack. A young man knocked Lian unconscious. Some of his friends ran away, and the man dealt with those who didn't. The young, dark haired man approached Serena, sunglasses preventing her from seeing his eyes.

Serena curled up tighter, shut her eyes, and rested her head on her bent knees as the young man approached.

He squatted down in front of her and rested his right hand on the top of her head.

Serena flinched a little at his touch, her breathing heavy.

"Hey." He spoke softly, almost whispering.

He moved his hand down to her face and lifted up her chin so he could see her face, it was soaked with tears and her left check was bleeding, the blood melding with her tears. He wiped her bleeding check with a tissue and retrieved a plaster from his pocket, placing it on her cheek.

"There we go." The young man took her hands and pulled her up. "You'll be fine now." He wiped her face from her tears and pulled her into a hug. He could feel Serena's heartbeat. Hard and fast. He pushed her away and adjusted his sunglasses before walking off casually, leaving Serena to let everything sink in.

--

_Well, there's the first chapter. I hope you like it, but it doesn't matter if you don't._

_Reviews would be nice :)_

_Nat_


	2. Interview

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or anything Sailor Moon related, or any of the characters

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or anything Sailor Moon related, or any of the characters.

**The Promise Of The Rose**

**Chapter 2 – Interview**

Serena looked around at the unconscious bodies around her, they creeped her out so she dusted herself over, picked up her schoolbag and walked at a brisk pace towards the address.

When she got there, she double checked the address to make sure she wasn't mistaken, for she was standing outside the gates of a mansion.

Pressing a button on the wall, Serena eyed the huge building. A woman's voice pulled her out of her trance.

"_Yes?" _It came out of the speaker.

"Um, I'm here for a job interview." She spoke, holding down the button.

"_Ah, yes. Please, come on in." _The Huge gates opened slowly and a middle aged woman came to greet her.

"This way please." She motion for Serena to follow.

Serena was taken to a room, with some other girls, also there for a job interview.

During her wait, the other girls were each taken, one by one, into another room. Serena was the last to be called in. She was asked to take a seat in an office, in front of a large desk. On the other side sat a young woman in her early twenties.

"Hello, Serena." She read the name off a form.

"Umm, hi." Serena sat nervously, twitching her hands.

"Now, this is just an interview, don't worry, your position won't be decided on this, we just have to find out all your details."

"Oh, okay."

"So, let's start with your age. How old are you?"

"I'm sixteen."

"Ah, so you're still in school?"

"Yes." Serena thought for a second. "That won't affect anything will it?"

The woman smiled.

"No."

They talked through some more details and the woman led Serena out into another room where the rest of the girls were. They were then asked to line up.

Serena stood 6th in the line of 8 girls and, as she looked at them, she realised that none of them were wearing a school uniform, meaning that she was the youngest candidate.

All the girls were then instructed to stand with their heads down and look at the floor.

Serena closed her eyes, she couldn't stand the tension and nervousness, and she thought she could do something clumsy at any minute, so tried to concentrate. She heard the door open.

A young man walked in and stepped towards the first girl in the line. He lifted up her chin so she could look at him. He studied carefully her face, from her hazelnut-brown hair to her emerald-green eyes, tanned skin and rosy pink lips. Her head dropped back down as he let go and he took a step back to look at her body; curved, and slim.

He turned his attention to the next girl. 30. Hair dyed blonde. He lifted up her make-up covered face. In his opinion, she wore far too much make-up, her eyes covered in mascara. Her dull grey eyes looked into his and her bright red lips curved into a smile. He let down her head and moved to the next girl.

She had pale skin and dark hair, as he lifted her head up, he could see the delicate curves on her face. He took a step back to look at her, she was stick-thin.

He moved along the row of girls repeating the same actions, until he got to Serena.

He took one look at her long blonde hair and smiled. As he lifted her chin up with his hand, Serena remembered the man who did the same thing to her earlier, and for a moment, she wished she could meet him again to thank him properly. When she looked at the young man in front of her, her eyes widened as she realised he was the same man from before. He stroked her cheek with his thumb and winked at her as she looked into his eyes. Smiling, he dropped her head gently and looked at the last two girls.

He moved away to the woman who interviewed the girls.

"Her." He said, pointing to his chosen girl.

The woman called out.

"Number six: Serena Tsukino."

Serena looked up at the woman and the young man. He smiled at her and walked out.

Serena was taken back into the office.

"Well done Serena. Now, you need to bring all of your belongings with you tomorrow at nine a.m sharp. You will start then. You will be living here from then on. Don't worry, you will be given more details tomorrow."

"Nine? But I have school tomorrow."

The woman chuckled.

"Don't worry. We have a schooling system here. You won't need to attend your school tomorrow."

"Oh, okay." They both got up, shook hands, and the woman led Serena to the main gates.

Serena walked home to spend one last night with her family.

--

Well, it took me a while to write this chapter. I was thinking of adding a clumsy part for Serena, but then I realised that it wouldn't really fit in.

If you haven't already realised, Serena is 16. And I've decided that Darien is 18 :)

Reviews would be nice. :)

Thanks

Natalie


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